


Can't Fight the Moonlight

by CBlue



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Day and Night, Background Coran/Dayak, Ballroom Dancing, Banter, F/M, Past Character Death (Alfor & Zarkon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 09:32:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17444327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CBlue/pseuds/CBlue
Summary: The Eclipse is fast coming for both the Realm of Night and the Realm of Day. Queen Allura of the Day Time has many expectations for the evening, but the surprisingly brightest event is the Lord Lotor, King of the Night Time. Together, they are meant to join in a dance to bring the ball's eclipse to totality as viewed through the open ceiling. Hopefully, Allura's patience with Lotor holds out.





	Can't Fight the Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Longpig](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Longpig/gifts).



Morning light bathed the large, ornate room with golden colors. The sun kissed the silvered locks that lay sprawled across the decorative pillow as a figure gently laid on the grand beddings. The figure moaned, turning in her bed as the daylight beckoned her eyelids open.

“Good morning, princess.” A bright smile framed with a well-groomed, orange mustache greeted the figure out of her sleep.

The princess sat up slowly, dragging her limbs across the tempting duvet as she straightened her stance with a stretch. “Good morning, Coran.” She greeted back in kind through her yawn.

Coran gave a soft bit of laughter before he moved closer. “Today is the day, princess.” He moved about laying her clothes out for the day. A large, delicately decorated dress hung from a thick hanger that he had pulled out from the grandiose closet.

“Oh? I hadn't remembered.” She teased with a raise of her eyebrow and a quirk of her lip.

Rolling his eyes with a gentle smile, Coran shook his head. “Now, princess, save some of that fiery spirit for your dancing partner.”

The princess’ demeanor shifted drastically. The fresh sunlight seemed to dim with her smile. “Don’t remind me.”

“Princess Allura,” Coran reprimanded softly, “you know it’s what must be done.” He inspected her dress. “You might even like it!”

“Like it?” Princess Allura gasped drastically as she turned with a furrowed brow to Coran. “Coran, every time this event has happened it has been nothing but miserable-”

Coran's disappointed sigh interrupted her tirade. “I know, Princess.” He spoke gently. “There are some things that are meant to be and this is one of them.”

Allura huffed, crossing her arms in a childish defense. “It isn’t fair! Why must I dance with him for this night only to usher in a superficial phenomenon?!”

“Princess Allura.” Coran offered the dress to Allura with an admonishment. “I know it is difficult, but…” his tone and demeanor changed faster than the Northern Hemisphere's weather, “this is your duty above all else, Princess.”

Her eyes softened around the harsh corners that her expression had formed. “I know, Coran.” She sighed. “Watching Father and Lord Zarkon do this a millennia ago...” her eyes grew distant at the mention of her father, “they made it look so easy.”

“You'll learn it.” Coran replied patiently and softly. Her mentor's calming aura reminded her of her own domain of sunlight. “Just like you've learned everything else.”

Smiling softly at the secondary father that she never quite felt deserving of, Allura stood from her comforting bed. “I suppose so.” Her eyes twinkled with a glowing mirth. “As long as I have you beside me.”

Coran's eyes watered like wildflowers coated in morning dew. “I will stand beside you as long as you will have me, Princess.”

Allura embraced Coran tightly, burying her face into the radiating center of his paternal warmth. “Forever if I have anything to say about it.” She whispered softly, voice wet with heavy emotion.

Returning the gesture, Coran held her close. “Good.” He chuckled. “Now come along. We have a day ahead of us.”

Allura huffed a laugh at the terrible pun. “And an eclipse.”

“And an eclipse.” Coran shared the breathy laughter with her for a quiet moment.

After the sanctuary of their private moment was interrupted by the starking contrast of fanfare outside the castle walls, Coran and Allura steeled themselves. Nodding once to one another, they parted. Allura kissed Coran's cheek tenderly.

“Thank you.” She whispered. Coran's smile was the only response she needed before he exited, allowing her the room in privacy to change.

Her private meditation allowed her to collect herself. She only needed to present one dance with Lotor, and it was a mere formality. The Lord of the Night Time had a darker reputation, but perhaps this was Allura's sun loving denizens fearing things they did not understand. Allura had never known him outside of their previous dances together. The kingdoms were forbidden from crossing over to one another.

When she had first met Lotor, she had been very young. Her father spoke in a strange tongue that Lord Zarkon had seemed to understand. Coran had quickly carried her off so Alfor, her father, and Zarkon could partake in the Dance of the Eclipse. She hadn’t worried herself with Lotor after that initial introduction.

Not until many years later, when it was Lotor and herself partaking in the Dance of the Eclipse, could she recall that night. The first time she had taken her father’s place, she could only think of that first night that she had ever been present for the eclipse. She remembered her father and Lord Zarkon, his dear friend, as they laughed with one another. The enchantment of the evening had her too enthralled to grasp anything but the bewitching movements of the pair at the center of the Ballroom Betwixt the Sun and Moon.

Idly, she wondered how much Lotor had remembered of that evening. She wondered if he too remembered the way their parents had laughed with one another. In her wonderings, she almost lost herself in trying to remember if Lotor too had been watching the pair from the sidelines.

“Are you ready?” Came the gentle calling after a knock that had just barely caught her from her wandering thoughts.

Allura straightened her posture, adjusting her dress. Tilting her chin up, she inhaled deeply. “I am.”

The Eclipsed Ball was as always  just as Allura had dreamed it would be, if not even more ethereal. Colors of both Kingdoms illuminated the grand ballroom, draping the golden and silver pillars in bright oranges and deep purples. Allura's breath caught in her throat at the sight of elegant dancers laughing their way through their merriment. For all the rumors of the Night Time Kingdom, her people seemed to be getting along swimmingly with the exotic, pale skinned foreigners.

She turned to her side, spotting Coran's encouraging bow of his head before she gracefully descended down the stairs. Her dress billowed behind her on the staircase like a predator's tail, sweeping across the floor behind her. Her hair was like a flowing mane down her back, drawing attention to the Lion insignia on her dress.

The banners that hung high on the ballroom's ceiling bore the same Lionhead that Allura proudly displayed on her form. The open back of the fanciful attire that Coran had picked for her drew attention to her fair, tanned skin. Marks in the shape of the same lion head glew in a hauntingly beautiful shade of blue.

She could feel her eyelashes brush against her cheeks with every flutter of them. Her eyes surveyed the room in search for her dance partner. Amidst the sea of dark colors worn by the opposing kingdom, she spotted locks of silver hair gracefully pulled back from a pointed face. Resting atop those gentle locks was a small circlet, proclaiming Lord Lotor as the King of his Realm.

Allura's bated breath hitched in her throat when her gaze caught Lotor's own. The sharp, attentiveness in them softened as his mouth opened in a slight gap. As if suddenly remembering where and who they were, Allura and Lotor averted their curious looks.

If Allura were being honest, it was probably something far more dangerous than curiosity. Her heart beat fast in her chest. She placed her cool palm against her slowly heating cheek. Allura straightened herself before turning fully to face the center of the ballroom.

The open roof displayed the oncoming eclipse before the entire audience that filled the ballroom. Allura thinned her lip as she gave a small mental count. Her attention was caught by the figure that strode to stand beside her.

“Are you ready for our dance?.” Lotor's silk voice had a foreign draw to it as he spoke.

Allura nodded graciously. “Yes.” She twirled to face Lotor fully. Bowing her head politely, she spoke again. “Lord Lotor, King of the-”

Lotor’s soft snicker cut her words short. She replied with a heated glare as she straightened her posture. “We’ve known each other since we were babes, Allura.” He shook his head. “There is no need for the formality.”

“I believe there is.” She responded curtly. “It is a tradition to uphold. One set by your father and mine.”

At the exclamation, Lotor’s demeanor shifted from the suave gentleman that had approached to something that he hid with the turn of his head. “Yes, I suppose you are right, Queen Allura, daughter of Alfor.” He bowed, bending his spine so that his hair fell over his shoulder. “My sincerest apologies.”

Chewing idly at the inside of her cheek, Allura curtsied. “Apology accepted, Lord Lotor.” She spoke the pleasantry albeit forcefully.

It was less Lotor’s demeanor that had thrown her emotions in such a way, and more her rejection of what emotions the young king had evoked from her. Taking a deep breath, she righted herself and stared straight back at Lotor’s soulful eyes. The oncoming eclipse reflected in his pupils, almost creating a dance all of its own.

Lotor held out his hand to Allura, silently asking the question they both had prepared for. Allura took in its appearance. Long, slender digits with calloused tips extended gently toward her. Well groomed nails could not hide what hard work had done to his hands. She wondered if it were swordplay or some other sort of labor that had hardened the king’s hands like that, but she dared not ask out of fear of insulting him and ruining the whole debacle.

With her head held high, Allura grasped his open palm in her own. She allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. In the middle of the glistening ballroom, directly under the slowly approaching eclipse, Allura and Lotor readied their dance.

Lotor’s hand secured itself on her waist while the other hand that held her own intertwined betwixt her fingers. Allura drew a gentle inhale as she firmly placed her opposite hand on Lotor’s finely dressed shoulder. His epaulets that adorned his shoulders were nearly sparkling like the twilight Allura had read about. For most of Allura’s childhood, she had kept to her own realm, especially after the passing of her father. The enthralling movements of the tassels that adorned the prince’s attire almost distracted her from their first step.

Together, moving as one with a practiced ease, Allura and Lotor began their glide across the floor. Allura’s dress swept across the floor with their swift movements. She could feel her hair whipping at her cheeks the faster they turned. Keeping her eyes from Lotor’s intense features, she let her eyes wander across the ballroom.

In a distant corner she spotted Coran. The brightly orange haired man beamed at her. The true reminder of her father that wasn’t a porcelain statuette or a banister of someone else’s making. Coran was a breathing testament to the light her father had once shown. The man had mourned just as she had before stepping up as no longer her mentor, but her surrogate father.

He directed a jovial smile and a wink for good luck at her before he broke their shared gaze. Allura watched as he moved quick on his feet from his corner to one of the women who had undoubtedly come from Lotor’s court given her garb and the way she held herself. Allura watched intently on their interactions before Lotor once again interrupted her thoughts.

“That’s my Dayak.” He spoke softly. “When my mother succumbed to her sickness, Dayak raised me.”

“Dayak?” Allura repeated the foreign word, trying to imitate his accent and speech.

Chuckling gently, Lotor nodded as he slowed their waltz and changed their tempo again. “Ah, yes. My… Nanny I believe is the term you use.”

Allura’s smile slowly spread across her face like the first rays of morning. “That’s nice that you have her.” She continues softly. “Coran was the same to me.”

“I suppose we both have them to thank.” His eyes glisten with a tease that his smirk leads into. “I do hope they enjoy their dance.” He motions with a point of his chin in Dayak and Coran’s direction.

Allura gaped slightly as she watched a blushing Coran reach for the Dayak’s hand as she smiled demurely at him. Giggling, she brought her hand from Lotor’s shoulder to cover her grin. “Well, that would make this well worth it.”

Lotor’s smile shifted like a storm wind. “I don’t know.” He whispered lowly. “I think sharing this dance with you has been well worth it.”

Pink blooms sprouted over Allura’s dark cheeks as she huffed a breath. “You’re rather corny, aren’t you?”

Grinning widely, Lotor laughed lowly. “I suppose so.” His eyes twinkled with midnight mirth. “But some are rather worth it.”

Blushing scarlet, Allura continued their waltz in silence. It was peaceful as the slowly creeping eclipse darkened the ballroom, allowing the Night Realms silvers to shine in the inky darkness. Beautiful carvings illuminated all of the guests from either kingdom, and Allura found herself enraptured by it.

Her pupils were blown wide in the shadows with only Lotor’s hair as her light. His silver locks illuminated just like the silverings of his garments and decorations that were carefully placed all throughout the ballroom between both kingdoms. Allura swallowed harshly around her stuttering words at his complexion highlighted by an ethereal silver.

“You’re an excellent dancer.” She complimented after a few moments of companionable silence.

“Thank you.” His silver smile was like a dagger, quick and sharp. “I have been practicing for all my life.”

Allura rolled her eyes with a playful smirk. “You could just take the compliment.” She leaned in teasingly. “Thank you would have sufficed.”

Lotor played the same game as her, leaning into her space until they were moving their feet over one another to continue their dance. “But would it have been as fun?”

Giving a thoughtful hum, Allura raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Well, your aim for that mark was lacking quite a bit.”

“You wound me, Princess.” Lotor quipped back.

“Queen.” She corrected with a proud sense of nobility. The reply was almost instinctual as most people, even in her own castle, still referred to her by her previous moniker. It had been a heavy crown to carrier, but her burden to bare as her father gave his parting words to her.

Lotor’s eyes caught whatever emotion Allura was fighting not to display. His lips thinned into a line before he carefully nodded. “My apologies again, my Queen.”

“It’s alright, King Lotor.” She spoke dutifully. “It has been a long time, hasn’t it?”

His eyes softened at the mention of their past. Again Allura recalled their first, fleeting meeting. She had barely counted it as anything, but Coran insisted that their official introductions when they were younger was in fact their official introductions despite it merely being their parents showing them off before allowing them to play. Lotor boldly brushed Allura’s loose bang behind her ear.

“I remember the first time I saw you.” He whispered again. “I thought you were the most beautiful creature to have ever graced either kingdom.”

Allura’s eyes widened at the forwardness of Lotor’s words. “Lotor-” She began before Lotor shook his head.

“Now I’m certain of it.”

Wide eyes sparkled beneath the parting moon and sun as the eclipse drew to its end. The two of them paused in their movements. Allura couldn’t be certain who froze first, but she was certain it was some ploy from both parties to slow this parting. She looked above them, as the moon pulled away from the sun, so did Lotor pull away from her.

His hands drew across her arms before pausing at her hand. He brought her knuckles close to his lips, brushing the velvet of his mouth against her hand in a barely there kiss. “Until we meet again.” Lotor promised against her knuckles before departing from her completely.

“Wait!” Allura shouted as she gripped his retreating hand firmly. She pulled him closer to herself. Just as the finale moments of the eclipse flittered above them, Allura drew her companion closer to her, kissing him softly and quickly. “You promised not to leave without a goodbye.”

Lotor’s eyes hadn’t quite caught his bittersweet smile in them, but shone nonetheless. “Of course, my Queen.” He whispered into the small space in between them. Gently, Lotor captured her lips in the most fleeting of kisses before pulling away. “Until our next dance.”

This time, when Lotor drew away from Allura, she allowed him to slip out of her grasp. As the King of the Night Realm carried the moon away with him, so did he carry Allura’s heart. From behind the Queen, Coran’s soft and reassuring hand landed on her shoulder.

“There will always be a next time, Your Majesty.” He spoke softly to the young woman.

“I know.” She nodded though her eyes stilled followed Lotor’s form. “It’s always next time.”

Watching him intently, Allura saw him smile over his shoulder. His eyes sparkled like the brightest night star that he had whispered to her about in their short, shared hours. Despite duty, and despite however long she spent with him, she would always love him. And even as she carried the weight of the Sun, she knew she carried him also. Just as Lotor had her, fully and totally.

“But I’m rather fond of next time.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this lil' gift. It originally had a drastically different turn, but the story wrote itself in this direction and I didn't have the heart to change it. I know you wanted something sweet, and this ending might be viewed as more bittersweet, but I really wanted to show how happiness is unconventional but it doesn't matter because it's our happiness. This is one of my more heavier dialogue fics too, so I hope that turned out as well as i hoped.


End file.
